Redemption
by claudia333
Summary: Draco Malfoy is released from Azkaban 5 years after the end of the war. Will he be able to find some love and happiness as well as a purpose in life and a spot in society? Follow him on his path to redemption all the way upto the DH epilogue and beyond.
1. Is this a good day or a bad day?

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns most of the characters in this stroy, some however are most certainly mine!

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Chapter 1

**Is this a good day or a bad day?**

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She had been staring at the file on her desk for how long now? Well not that long really, just an hour or so. Maybe she should just open it, that way it might at least look like she wasn't miles away, but actually at work. On the other hand, the office was strangely empty for this time of the day, probably due to the fact that summer holidays were starting and people were off, picking up their children, going home with them to catch up. Looking around she came to the conclusion that technically, they had left her all alone to run the office, maybe even the entire Department. This made her just a little bit proud of herself. She had only been in training for a year now, but already it seemed that she was a full member of the core team of the Department of Magical Rehabilitation, getting bigger and bigger assignments every day. Which she liked, at least until that dreadful file had appeared on her desk.

Another look and she was sure it hadn't gone anywhere since she had drifted off, deep in thought. Her first Level 1 assignment, she really should be seriously excited! She had been waiting for an opportunity like this, since day one. And now the day had come and she couldn't help to wonder whether she would be ready. Whether she could really handle and streamline the return of a Level 1 criminal subject into Wizarding society. Which was a truly ridiculous thought. She, Lucinda Shacklebolt, could handle anything thrown at her, as long as she put her mind to it!

She had been the smartest witch at Hogwarts since Hermione Granger and had finished school with perfect NEWT grades and a bag full of job offers in her pocket. She could have worked anywhere, but finally decided to take this job, because she truly believed in what the new Ministry had been trying to do since the war had been over and wanted to contribute to a fair and respectful Wizarding society for all its members. And in her opinion the best way to do so was to make sure that those who once strayed from the right path would never do so again. The Department of Magical Rehabilitation handled all kinds of cases, from small, one time thugs, to the more troublesome serial offenders, which had landed themselves a minor stint at Azkaban. Lucinda would help them get back on track afterwards and make sure they fulfilled all set government requirements after their release and made sure they would go home with something useful to do in their lives. She talked, she tutored, and she planned. She even sometimes got angry at the right persons, when someone's past got in the way of their future.

Even though Wizarding society at whole seemed to be much more tolerant these days, the difference between the winners and the losers of the final battle was still quite present. After the final battle society had been swept clean from all that had associated with the Dark Lord and just punishments were distributed. Wand records were produced, events were reconstructed and memories were extracted in order to come to a fair conclusion of everyone's role in the war. Azkaban had been filled up to its full capacity shortly after the war, but by now, 5 years later, had started to empty out again. Only the presence of the Dark Mark or a combination of major offences would lead to a sentence of 5 years or more, effectively leaving Azkaban to the Dark Lords followers and his most inner circle these days. The system was quite fair she thought and had worked at least most of the time in a favourable way. But even the best justice system in the world had its faults and one of them was lying on her desk right now.

His trial had been long awaited and if it had been up to the spectators, he would have ended up in Azkaban for life no matter what, joining every single member of his family for the hideous crimes he had supposedly committed. The truth in the end had not entirely been what the masses had expected. On one account they had been right however, there had been a Dark Mark on his forearm and therefore he had made himself eligible for a lifelong sentence in Azkaban right away.

The story of how that Dark Mark had gotten on there however, made all the difference. It had not been taken voluntarily but under great resistance. The memories of all Death Eaters present at his initiation had been scourged to find evidence to the contrary, but in the end they had only collected more evidence of one of the biggest acts of defiance the Dark Lord had ever encountered. To everyone cleared to see these memories, it had been quite clear that for a very long time death had been the preferred choice over taking the Dark Mark and the only thing that had made him waver was the fact that they had taken his mother and put her under the Cruciatus curse for several long, heart wrenching, periods, which were only interrupted to giver her time to beg her son to please do as he was told and take the Dark Mark. Senior Aurors had left the room half way through the display and even Mad Eye Moody had looked away at least once during the entire episode.

In the end it had taken 6 Death Eaters to hold him down after a horrifying Cruciatus, while the Dark Lord burned the Mark into his forearm, sending him on his way to make his first kill in order to finalise his initiation. Unfortunately for the prosecution, the kill took never place, leaving the defence with a clear case of an unfinished initiation and an uncommonly and rather unexpectedly clean wand record. Because even after extensive research it turned out that not a single hex, dark spell or Unforgivable had been ushered by his wand, at least not as long as it had stayed in the hands of its true owner. In the end however none of that had mattered. After a lot of commotion and a lot of pressure from the Wizarding community and the associated Wizarding Press, the jury had caved and decided to placate the masses.

He had been tried as a fully initiated Death Eater and was sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment in Azkaban. 5 Years to pay for not raising his wand at innocent people, 5 years for defying a direct order of the Dark Lord, 5 years for being at the wrong time at the wrong place while belonging to the wrong sort of family, 5 years for still caring enough for said family, in order to not let them die at the business end of the Dark Lord's wand.

The general public was not necessarily appeased by this concession. They had expected more and the uproar didn't die down for a long time. In the end however, they were delighted. Shamefully delighted that someone had to pay for crimes he did not commit. She could remember the happy faces outside of the courtrooms, the comments people made about there finally being justice. But whenever she thought about them, she also remembered Hermione Granger directly after the trial and Rita Skeeter asking her for her opinion about the outcome of the trial. Her answer had come out in a calm and quiet voice, rather unremarkable, but had made its way forward and back through the entire Wizarding society within 24 hours.

_" Sometimes, people can surprise you. They surprise you in a good way or a bad way. During these last few days Wizarding Britain definitely surprised me when it showed its true face. Today might have been a good day for those seeking retribution, but it certainly was a bad day for those seeking justice!"_

With that she had left behind a confused crowd behind, which couldn't shake off the feeling that they had just been insulted to the bone by one of their own beloved war heroes.


	2. Please proceed to Phase I

I was inspired so here is chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, JK Rowling however does!

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Chapter 2

**Please proceed to Phase I!**

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Finally flipping open the folder, Lucinda's eye fell on the top paper.

**Level I Subject **

**Rehabilitation Procedure**

**for**

**First Class Rehabilitation Officers**

1) Pick up the Subject at Azkaban prison and accompany him/her to their residence of choice in order to start Phase I.

2) Phase I: For the next coming 365 days the subject will be under direct supervision at all times. During Phase I steps should be undertaken to enable a successful re-entry into Wizarding society. Steps to undertake may vary depending on the Subject.

3) Phase II: After successful completion of Phase I, the Subject will enter Phase II in which, for the duration of 365 days, the Subject will visit the rehabilitation office on a weekly basis to report his/her progress in re-entering Wizarding society. Further assistance and advice should be offered to the Subject. In case of major problems, the rehabilitation officer should make use of the provided emergency protocols (annex XI).

4) Phase III: After completion of Phase II, the Subject will have to check in on a yearly basis to discuss his/her position in Wizarding society.

**Please pay special attention to the following****!**

Besides the usual restrictions and regulation that apply to normal Subjects, the following additional rules and regulation apply to Level I Subjects:

1) Apparition is prohibited at all times. Floo connections will be permitted under special regulation and can be applied for by the Subject or his/her rehabilitation officer (annex XIV).

2) The use of spells and hexes categorised by the Ministry as Level 3 or higher are prohibited at all times (for a complete list see annex XVII).

3) The maximal distance allowed between a Level I Subject and his/her rehabilitation officer has been set at 0.5 miles during Phase I. Please keep this in mind, since crossing this distance will lead to an immediate immobilisation of the Subject at all times.

4) Level I Subjects can/will be traced by the Ministry at all times, for ever!

Raising an eyebrow at that last little statement, Lucinda reread the protocol once more, letting all the information sink into her brain. Technically Level I Subjects simply exchanged one prison for another under the pretence of regaining personal freedom. Nice kind of freedom that was, being traced down 24/7 by the Ministry for the rest of your life.

But it would not only mean a great deal of change for her Subject, but also for her. For the next year she would be exchanging her crappy, sloppy but cosy "closet" of an apartment in order to stay at her "Subject's residence of choice". They really should do something about the bureaucratic tone of those protocols, they made it all sound so horribly impersonal, like there were no human beings involved at all. Only Subjects! Well, she would be sleeping, eating, living and breathing at her Subjects' residence of choice while trying to find a way to do the unthinkable. How did one re-enter one of Britain's most wanted war criminals into Wizarding Society?

Especially keeping in mind all those very convenient extra restrictions and regulations which made it almost impossible to function as a normal human being. She had some serious thinking to do right there! Her social life would come to a halt off course, being so far away from everyone and everything and dating would be rather impossible. Unless off course, she could find some fine young mind that didn't mind having diner with her and a Level I Subject. Maybe she should put out an add!

While being on the subject, she wasn't entirely sure why she got this job in the first place. Off course, she had been promoted to rehabilitation officer first class, which meant she should be up to the job, but something told her she hadn't been picked for this one merely based on skill and talent. The fact that she was a pureblood most likely played a role as well as the fact that she was very well connected, being the favourite niece of the Minister of Magic. And there was the little nagging fact that she was still single and totally unconnected to anyone particular. No parents to go to on weekends, no boyfriend that would complain about her absence, no classes she would miss, no kids at home to raise.

Simply said, she could be missed for a year and they knew it. All together she was the ideal person for the job, making at once sure that the outside world would think the Ministry took every single ex convict seriously, while at the same time leaving open the option of serious, but unintentional failure due to her inexperience or his unwillingness to participate. Most likely the last option would be in the official reports, because she was quite sure no one meant her any harm in this scheme. Even if she failed she would walk a way with credit for at least trying and a Level I assignment on her resume, putting her far in front of any of the competition for some of the higher ranks in her or other Departments at the Ministry.

Still, somewhere deep inside her she felt the great need to actually succeed. She wanted this to work out fine, for her but also for the other party involved. After all, it was why she had started working here in the first place, not to rise quickly in the Ministry ranks, but to help others who couldn't fend for themselves. Now she only needed a plan as to how to succeed. Well, she still had an entire evening and night to come up with something, while packing her life into her suitcase. Slipping the folder into her bag, she decided to go home and enjoy her last night of relative freedom.


	3. Closed Doors

As you all know, I did not come up with HP and therefore all credits should go to JK Rowling!

Here is chapter three. I hope you like it. You can always let me know by leaving a review.

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**Chapter 3**

**Closed doors**

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After a last check, Lucinda closed the door of her apartment and, suitcase in hand, walked the short distance to the underground. Five stops and a short walk later she let herself into the Ministry, taking an elevator up to the Department of Magical Artefacts. There, lounging behind her desk, sipping her first of many cups of coffee, Patagonia Hale was already waiting.

"And there Ladies and Gentlemen she is; Lucinda Shacklebolt, youngest First Class Rehabilitation Officer ever, ready to go out on her first big assignment. Now please Miss Shacklebolt, tell us all, how are you feeling?" she bellowed through the still empty office, flawlessly imitating a popular Quidditch commentator, cheeky grin plastered on her face all the way through.

Slouching down in the next available chair, Lucinda made herself comfortable, accio-ing herself a cup a coffee and putting her legs up on the edge of Pat's desk.

"Well, I'm kind of nervous, you know, what with going away for a year and being magically bound to someone I don't know and who will be newly released from Britain's finest hellhole, thinking who knows what." she sighed, swirling the little plastic spoon around.

Pat gave her best friend a once over and had to grin. In the 8 years they had known each other, this most definitely was one of the few times something really had gotten to her.

They had met on the Hogwarts Express, during their first ride and had never let go of each other. They both got sorted into Ravenclaw and had combined their brains and daring characters to win the Quidditch and House cup three times in a row while surviving more then their fair share of teenage angst and boy trouble through the years. They couldn't help it, they were born gorgeous and boys always turned out to be so stupid!

Scooting over her chair, she gathered Lu up in a big bear hug and whispered into her ear, "I'll miss you to Lulu, but just remember I'm only one owl and a few hundred miles away. Don't worry, if he ever hurts you or bugs you I'll come over to that big fancy pansy mansion he's going to hide you in and I will kick his ass. You make sure to tell him that, alright. Tell him your best friend forever, Patagonia Hale, will most certainly have his hide if he even thinks about doing something stupid".

Lu had to smile, "That would be a nice introduction, don't you think? Hello, I'm Lucinda Shacklebolt, your Rehabilitation Officer and just in case you wanted to know, my friend Patagonia will have your hide if you ever even think about doing something stupid ever again. I'll bet that will get us of on a brilliant start and keep him away from anything remotely related to the Dark Arts"!

They only needed one look after that to fall into a fit of giggles that took a while to get rid off. Lucinda felt all the stress, tension and worries leave her system. This would be OK and Pat was right, in the worst case, she was not all that far away from home and her backup was alive and kicking, waiting for some action. Getting up, she hugged Pat one last time and rolled her suitcase out of the office, waving goodbye, yelling a quick "I love you, will owl you a.s.a.p. with the newest news!" over her shoulder.

Suitcase in tow, she carted through the hallways, into another elevator and down 6 floors to get to her own office, to pick up her case file, check out with her secretary and wave good bye to her boss, who gave her a thumbs up and a salute.

That left all but one stop and catching the next elevator she went all up to the top floor and exited into Minister's reception area.

"Hi Sue, is Uncle Kingsley available right now?" she greeted the secretary behind the reception desk who was in the middle of a floo call, but waved her through. Leaving her suitcase in the hall, she walked passed the reception desk and with a light knock on the door entered the office behind it.

Sitting behind his desk, Kingsley Shacklebolt looked up and saw his favourite niece enter his office. Getting up from behind his desk he met her half way through the room and enveloped her in a big hug.

"I'll miss you kiddo" he whispered into her hair, while pushing it back over her shoulders. "Send grandma an owl as soon as you have settled in and if there is anything and I really mean anything you need, you'll let us know, alright? And we'll be watching him all the time, so don't worry about him pulling any tricks on you, we'll be there before he can even blink an eye, so there will definitely be no hexing you."

"You, as the head of Wizarding Society, are supposed to embrace those we welcome back after a prolonged absence, you know", she scolded, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow at him. "Not to make their lives as miserable as possible, while hunting them down for being assigned to your niece. He can't help it, I'm quite sure he had no say in this entire matter. So if you want to blame some one, take it up with my boss. Don't make my job even harder than it already is."

"Just promise me you'll be careful Lulu. He's not one of those small town criminals you're used to deal with. He's the real deal and although one might hope he will behave himself, things could get rather nasty if he doesn't."

"Fine, fine, I'll send you an owl every hour as a sign of live, reporting the number of times he took a breath of air, OK? That way you will be fully informed about his conduct!" she countered, getting rather annoyed. They always acted like she couldn't handle herself in these kinds of situations. As if she was four years old and way in over her head.

Chuckling, Kingsley let go of his niece and leaned against his desk. She had grown up so fast, he barely noticed. And now she was on her way to pick up a Junior Death Eater. He couldn't help but worry, could he?

But the face she made clearly said to stop worrying now or else, so he lead the conversation into clearer water and after another few minutes kissed her good bye. But when she got onto the elevator, he couldn't help but worry where all of this would lead.

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Someone had obviously had the brilliant idea to make at least one room in this dreadful place comfortable enough to receive guests. The Azkaban reception area and foyer was a big lobby, painted in a cheerfully pale yellow, with nice white ornamented ceilings and paintings of landscapes on the walls, flowers scattered around the room, giving it a homey feeling.

Some settees were placed throughout the area as well as a big round reception desk witch was staffed at all times with a cheery witch, dressed in a matching yellow outfit. Anyone who didn't know better would think they obviously made a wrong turn and ended up at the wrong place.

Lucinda however had been further into Azkaban, passed the cheery receptionist, through the nice looking wood framed door behind the reception desk and into the inner bowels of the building. The only improvement the Ministry had deemed necessary after the war past that door, had been the banishment of all Dementors, but hardly anything else had changed from the old days.

The building was still a dark, depressing, draughty, damp structure in which prisoners where locked up in isolated cells, with nothing to keep them company but themselves. Care was sufficient but minimal and having to go there still was most people's worst dream come true.

The door, from the foyer to the exchange rooms and the real prison, that looked so inviting from the outside, looked rtotally impregnable from the inside. Its construction of interlocking bolts and locks made it nigh impossible to get through, effectively blocking the only humanly possible way out. Once you went through that door, chances of turning back were rather limited.

Waiting patiently on her side of the door, hearing the bolts unclick and locks pop open, she prepared herself for what she would find behind it. She knew his file forward and backwards, remembering every single detail of his live the Ministry had deemed necessary to be written down. She had seen pictures of him, from the early days, when the war had just been over and pictures taken during his trial.

She had off course known what he looked like even before, they had been at school together, although one could hardly say they knew each other, him being a sixth year Slytherin, she being a shy third year Ravenclaw. But it had been hard to overlook him in the hallways or during meals in the Great Hall. Slytherins in those days had always had the ability to make themselves noticed in a room full of people. To draw everybody's attention and he off course had been a Slytherin to the tee.

But a war, a public trial and five years of Azkaban could do a lot to a person. He probably would look all different, but more importantly, she was wondering what would be left over of that boy that had strolled Hogwarts' hallways so confidently.

Passed the door, through a small dingy hallway, she entered the main exchange room. Here lawyers could talk to their clients, visitors could see their loved ones and in her case, Rehabilitation Officers would pick up their Subjects. All she could really do now was sit and wait for what was going to come into that room through the closed door at the other side.


	4. Two down, one more to go

Unfortunately, Draco Malfoy is not mine, he belongs to JKR.

I would like to thank all the readers that left a review. Thank you very much for your encouraging words!

Have fun reading and once again, let me know what you think!

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**Chapter 4**

**Two down, one more to go**

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The day he would finally be free again had been long awaited, but when it finally arrived, he wasn't quite sure he was ready to leave. In a few hours he would step foot outside of Azkaban and go home, or at least to what was left of it.

The question was whether home would be the best place to be right now, but there really was nowhere else to go. He just hoped there was something left of the Manor he used to live in, play in, of the place he loved and used to be proud of. But between being the Dark Lord's headquarters during the War and being cleaned out by Ministry officials in the period afterwards, he wasn't sure what would be left.

After being arrested, the day after the Final Battle, he had only been back once, to pick up some clothes and necessities for his trial. He had been just in time to see Aurors dismantle the century old library, smacking volume after valuable volume onto the Persian rug, searching for anything that might have to do with Dark Arts or the Dark Lord. Like his father would have been stupid enough to put his Dark Art tomes next to his mother's collection of early 17th century romance novels.

Ever since he had been a small kid he had loved that library, it had been his safe haven, a place to hide and get lost into other people's adventure. And they were ripping it down, book by book, shelf after shelf. That was the last he had seen of his home, after that it had been the Ministry holding cells the high security tract, the court rooms and finally Azkaban. Ever since, he had been waiting. Waiting to go home.

Currently however, he was relishing every minute of the first decent shower he had since he left his holding cell at the Ministry five years ago, the day he was sentenced. He had been standing under the hot water for at least half an hour now, enjoying the fact that it didn't turn into ice within 5 minutes like it usually did, scrubbing of the grime he still felt all over his body although it had washed off a long time ago. He wasn't sure if he would ever feel clean again, but at least the strong warm beam of water helped a little, making him feel better.

After he had cleaned up and dressed in whatever they would put out for him, he would briefly meet with a legal council who would shortly explain the future procedure, although it was already quite clear to him. Restrictions would still be in place, would always be there. He would be watched by many and most of them would only be waiting for him to mess up and send him back where he belonged. Theoretically he was a free man starting today, practically it was probably just a manner of time before he would be back here. Well, in that case he could always still…..

A rap on the door of the bathroom finished that thought, before it could get hold, which was a good thing, no reason to get all depressed today, there would be plenty of time for that tomorrow! Within hours he would be breathing fresh air and set foot on main land and he would try and enjoy at least some of it.

When the moment came, the way up to the exchange rooms seemed to be longer than ever before. Three more doors and he would be out. "Just three more doors, keep your nerves together Draco", he told himself over and over all the way down the long dark corridor, while the guard kept prodding in his back to make him move faster.

When they arrived at the door to the exchange room, the guard gave him a last check up and left him standing there, walking back the way they had come from.

Three more doors, just three more doors!

Why was it so hard then, to step through the first? "Just step through, pick up your Rehabilitation Officer and go, Draco!" he told himself while he stood there, frozen, staring at the door. But wasn't that the problem? Behind that door someone was waiting for him, someone who would control his life from now on, who could do with him whatever they wanted. Somebody hand picked by the Ministry, the same Ministry that got him here in the first place. Somebody he didn't now at all.

Taking a deep breath, he decided he could do this, no matter who would be waiting there and put his hand on the doorknob, slowly turning it to the left, opening the door, while stepping into the room, not knowing that while doing so, he closed his eyes and held his breath, mentally preparing himself for the worst. Blinking confusedly, trying to get out of his own head and back into the room, he needed a moment to register that he was standing in front of a tall blond, her hand stretched out towards him in order to shake his.

He had totally missed what she just said, but from the looks of her official Ministry robes and the fact that the file in her other hand clearly read his name, she must be his Rehabilitation Officer. A job she seemed to be far too young for, she barely looked 18, like a 7th year that lost its way and accidentally ended up here, her hair in a ponytail, held together with a silver striped dark blue ribbon and a blue polo peeking out from under her robes, which matched the high heeled shoes that were peaking out from underneath them.

Brilliant, just brilliant, they send out a ton-sur-ton loving girl to torture him. Some one at the Ministry must be having a major laugh at this moment.

In the meantime, said girl had put back her hand behind her back and her expression had changed from an inviting smile into a frown. Obviously he had done something wrong, but he wasn't quite sure what, he had really just been standing there, thinking, not doing anything. It would probably help if he quit staring at her, so he averted his eyes, looking to the floor instead of meeting her gaze.

Next thing he knew, she cleared her throat and said, "Well if you have nothing to say for yourself, I suppose we should go" and turning on her heel, she walked over to the door leaving him there to follow with a baffled expression on his face.

"Two doors down, one more to go", his head kept reminding him all the way up the corridor towards the exit, bolts and locks coming into view. He could remember the sound of those bolts and locks moving back into place after he had entered like it had been yesterday. And once again he drifted off reliving the day he arrived, totally missing out on the frustrated questions uttered by his companion.

When she put her hand on his back to push him forward towards the now open door, he startled, flinched and stepped away from her, throwing her a dirty look to cover up his panick. He didn't like to be touched out of the blue and definitely not by strangers. His look was reciprocated by an even dirtier look from her after which she stepped through the door, disappearing into normalcy.

The only thing he had to do was follow.

Follow and never come back.

He counted to ten to calm his nerves and, without looking back, stepped through the door, into the reception area. Nothing could be worse than what was lying behind him, he was sure of that.

The bright light that met is eyes made him close them immediately, his eyes, no longer used to its brightness, needed a moment to adjust. By the time he got back his senses, he could feel everyone present stare at him, like he was some anomaly, some freak. All he really wanted right there and then was to get out. Maybe he was wrong about nothing being worse.

Unfortunately, Miss X, as he dubbed her, had other things in mind. She had him fill out an enormous stack of papers that she smacked in front of him onto the reception desk, while she chatted with the receptionist covering every day trivialities. The receptionist kept on throwing glances into his direction, like he was planning on murdering her any time now, making him feel more and more uncomfortable.

And even when he was done filling out all the paperwork, she insisted on having a cup of coffee first, before getting on their way. She was stalling, effectively torturing him like a pro. Sipping his coffee, which was far too strong for someone who had nothing but water these last five years, he decided he had been wrong once again today; she most definitely was up to her job, making him as miserable as humanly possible.

When they finally left they used the Ministry's high security floo connection straight into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, which was luckily quite deserted when they arrived and from there they went straight away to the Manor, exiting in its ancient, marble entry hall. So much for fresh air and solid ground!

Stepping out of the fireplace, his eyes fell on the rows and rows of paintings, lining the walls of the hall. Every single one of his ancestors was throwing him a disapproving look.

Draco Malfoy had at long last come home!


	5. Emptiness all around

Unfortunately, Draco Malfoy is not mine, he belongs to JKR.

I'm sorry I took so long to update, but I had some RL writing to do for my PhD thesis and unfortunately the job comes first.

Enjoy and feel free to leave a review!

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Chapter 5 : Emptiness all around

Standing in the dingy hall that once was the marvellous entrance to Malfoy Manor, the list of expletives Lucinda was stringing together in her head to hurl at Draco Malfoy at the earliest convenience, was growing and growing.

Not only had the great big prat snubbed her at first appearance, he had not spoken a single word to her or acknowledged her presence once. Who did he think he was?

The fact that centuries of Malfoy ancestors had decided to look at her with their pale eyebrows drawn up into a disapproving frown, did not necessarily help the situation.

Unfortunately her tirade was stopped before it even started by a loud, resounding "PLOP" that echoed through the big marble hallway and had both its occupants jumping.

Luckily for them, the PLOP had been caused by a rather cute looking house elve that stared up at expectantly. Unfortunately for Lucinda, it was Malfoy who made the quicker recovery.

"Mimi, please prepare a guest room in the east wing for our guest, then escort her to it. I'll be up in my room, not to be disturbed!" With that he turned on his heal, stalking up the dusty but still splendid staircase, turning around a corner and disappearing out of Lucinda's sight.

Which left her stranded!

In a hallway full of snobby portraits!

With only house-elve for company!

The little, annoying, irritating son of a…

"If Miss will follow Mimi, she will show her to her room", the little elve squeaked, looking up at her kindly. Having said that, she immediately started off towards the stairs and Lucinda could do little more than grab her suitcase and try to follow.

After ten minutes of climbing dusty stairs, crossing dark, dismantled hallways and strolling through grand but deteriorated rooms, she was quite sure she would never ever find her way back to the entrance hall by herself.

She was also slightly worried about whether or not she had moved beyond the assigned distance she should keep to her Parolee at all times.

On the other hand, who cared? It would serve him right to be petrified somewhere in this dreadful manor until she decided to go and find him. Hah! That would be like….never!

Turning around yet another corner, the elve stopped abruptly in front of a double door and proceeded to open it. Or at least she tried to open it. After several attempts and a fine display of house elve magic, the doors were still closed and the elve was getting visibly upset.

Lucinda, well acquainted with house elf histrionics, decided to step in before the little creature would start to fling its head into the closest wall.

" It seems to be stuck the good old fashioned way so all we will probably need is a good oiling spell on those hinges and some brute force to open it up. After spelling some oil on the door hinges and the lock, she took the doorknob and pulled. And pulled some more, without effect!

Stepping back, she suspiciously eyed the door, tried an Alohamora just to be sure and decided that really all they were missing here was some more blunt force.

At the next try, she felt little hand cover her own and the little elve smiled up to her and together they pulled and pulled until finally the door gave way and opened up into a big, dark, blackened room.

To make things worse it was covered in a big layer of dust and smelled like it had not seen a breeze of fresh air for at least a decade. It was hard to discern any colours at all, but if she had to guess, she would say green and silver. Slytherin to the core!

After a quick dust and brush, Mimi the elve had cleaned away most of the grime but was looking disapprovingly at the room. Muttering something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like "will pull his ear until he finds back some of those manners", Mimi pulled open the dark curtains, letting in some rays of light and then left, telling Lucinda that dinner would be served at 7 in the dining room.

"Right", she sighed, sinking down on the big bed. "If I ever find my way to the dining room I will at least not starve". Making her way through the room, she found a adjacent bathroom with a nice tub and a big closet. Not all that bad she thought, although the tub could use a good rub down.

Deciding that a bath would be in order to get of the remnant grime from Azkaban and to sooth her mood before running into Malfoy again, she decided to first clean and than fill the tub.

Half an hour later, she was sinking into her favourite lavender scented bubbles and closed her eyes. As long as she didn't look and thought happy thoughts, she might forget that she was supposed to stay in a grimy run down manor with the biggest snob on earth, all alone without her friends or family.

But instead of feeling better, the eerie silence that surrounded her and this bloody awfull manor, made her feel scarily alone and empty.

* * *

Draco, in the meantime, had made his way over to the main wing and had plopped down on his old bed in his old room. If he had calculated right, he would be nowhere close to being petrified.

That was unless, little Miss perfect from the Ministry decided to go and take a stroll around the manor. In that case he most certainly would end up frozen to the spot. He should let Mimi know, not to let her out of her sight and always within the right distance. Right, talk to Mimi!

He had been surprised to see Mimi in the manor.

Mimi who had practically raised him from the day he was born and who had most definitely been set free after he had been incarcerated. He had seen the papers; he had been forced to sign them. There was nothing left of the once so impressive Malfoy Manor House-elve Staff.

Or at least he had thought so. He had counted on having the entire hovel to himself. And than she just had to PLOP into the hall, completely ruining his well thought out plans.

This would make things so much more complicated!

He was quite sure that he could outwit little Miss perfect, but Mimi was a different story.

She would watch his every move and catch his every mood.

He had never been able to do anything at all without her knowing all about it. He would have to do something about that, it just wouldn't do. Well it wasn't like he had any other pressing matters keeping him busy. But first he would take a very long, very hot shower.

The water started running slowly at first. He could here the pipes filling, the water streaming through, cleaning them, filling them, after having been shut down for such a long time.

At first it was cold and less than clean, but after a while it started to clear up and become warm. He could hear the air gurgle in the usually silent pipe system and once again it hit him. There was nothing left of the place he once had proudly called home. All that was there was a sagged down, pilfered shadow of the splendid manor of his childhood days. Dark, dusty and ready to fall apart at its seams. Completely and utterly empty

Just like his life!

* * *

After escorting Miss Lucinda to the dreadful East Wing and giving her room a once over, Mimi decided to go find Master Draco and have a word with him. Putting up that lovely young Lady in the East Wing! Without as much as an introduction! Storming of without a proper hello! She seriously wondered what had gotten into him.

It had taken her three rounds off pulling at that horrible doorknob to find out that the young ladies name. And to find out that she was there to stay and watch Master Draco for the Ministry.

Making this even worse! Absolutely and totally impossible! And he would not get away with it.

It was just not done, no matter the circumstances, to act like that towards a guest. Unthinkable! The only place worse would have been the dungeons and even that was debatable, seeing how at least they had not been inhabited by the Dark Lord's finest!

Apparating into his rooms, she found them empty, but she could hear the shower running and decided to wait him out. He had never been one for baths or long showers.

Half an hour later she was hard pressed to storm into the bathroom and get him out from underneath that blasted shower. Instead, she decided on letting him know she was there and expecting him to make an appearance.

"Master Draco, if you are not out of there, dried and dressed within 10 minutes, I'll have to come in and see to it myself!", she squeaked at full volume, knowing very well, she was not to be overheard this way. "And we both know what that means, don't we", she added smirking a bit.

In the end it took him just a little over ten minutes to exit the bathroom, but she let him get away with it, since she knew he was out of the shower.

Ready to fling into the lecture she had prepared, the words died a quick and empty death on the tip of her tongue when he stepped out of the bathroom and she got her first real good look at him.

The first thing that came up in her mind, was said in the clear sneer that once had been Lucius Malfoy's speaking voice; "damaged goods". This was not something she would ever have hoped to use in the same sentence as the words "Draco Malfoy". And still, there she was.

He had changed into one of his old corduroys and a pullover, both of which were sagging around his frame, making him look small and emaciated. He was leaning against the doorpost, an old habit, but instead of doing so in his usual nonchalant way, he seemed to need the post to keep upright.

The thing that really did it however, were his eyes. They had been described by many as being cold pools of ice, or stormy blue like the sky just before a storm, ready for the kill. People used to say, that they gave nothing away. But Mimi, who had known Draco since the day he was born, knew every nuance, every shift, every change and what they meant. She would kow that he was up to something or whether something had happened to him just by looking him straight into the eyes.

But now she was looking at him and there was nothing. Nothing but a great and hollow emptiness.

* * *

Pointing to the review button :P


	6. Killing plants?

JKR owns all official HP character

I would like to thank everybody who took the time to read. THANK YOU!

An extra thanks to those who reviewed.

Some of you mentioned that sometimes my spelling is off. I'm sorry about this, but English is not my first language so I'm doing my best and hope it will be good enough for you.

Feel free however to point any horrible mistakes I seem to repeat and I will try not to make them again

* * *

"I suggest you sit down for this young man".

"What"!

"You heard me, sit down".

"You are aware of the fact that technically you are a house elf and therefore not in a position to order me around, right".

"I, young men, have known you since the day you were born. When you cried, I made sure you were fed or got a new diaper. When you decided it was time to go crawl around the Manor, it was me who spend days chasing you around, making sure you would not get close to anything dark or dangerous. I spend seventeen years of my life making sure you stayed out of trouble and as far away from your father and his bad temper in order to keep you as safe and sound as humanly possible in a house filled to the brink with Death Eaters, dark artefacts and in the end, the Dark Lord himself. So I suggest you do something about that sarcastic tone of yours and try to remember some of those manners I'm sure I taught you along the way. And you will…. sit….. down. Now!"

"And just so you know, in accordance with Act 8 Paragraph 6 Section 3 of the Magical Creature Equality Act, all house elves were set free from their services and are no longer bound to their former Masters, which means that you are not my boss and I do not have to be here", she added for good measure while Draco moved himself from the doorpost towards the bed in the middle of the room and sat down.

"Why are you here then?"

"Because I happen to like ordering you around. That and someone had to keep an eye on this place. And obviously someone needs to keep an eye on you!"

"I don't need a sitter."

"Really, because from where I'm standing it looks like you can't stay out of trouble even if your life depended on it! Which brings us to the true subject of this discussion. Please explain to me how, in a manner of hours, you seem to have managed to offend the one person who is supposed to be on your side in all of this".

"Offend her! I haven't said two full sentences to her, how on earth could I have offended her?"

"Did it ever cross your mind that that's exactly why she might be offended? She doesn't seem the quiet silent type to me, so she must have said more than two words to you on your way over."

"She might have."

"She might have?"

"Yes, well, I might have missed some of it. I was kind of preoccupied with getting out of prison, you know. What did you say her name was by the way?"

"Pardon me?"

"You heard me!"

"Are you telling me you just "kind of" missed her introducing herself!"

The look on his face said it all. He had been preoccupied indeed! He could have just asked her again, any time really, but off course instead he had to go off and be all Malfoy and decide that would not do. Damn those genes.

"Well I suggest you fix this mess you got yourself in, during dinner, after which you can escort her to her new room in the family wing."

"No way!"

"Pardon me, again!"

"She can stay where she is, the West wing has been the guest wing ever since this Manor was build. She is a guest, she can stay where guests are supposed to stay!"

"The Dark Lord stayed in the West Wing"

"So?"

"So, it was stripped down to the floor boards by the Ministry and is currently the most dreadful part of this house and that includes the dungeons. That and the fact that anything they missed might still be hanging around there".

"I say again......soooo?"

"So you will escort your guest out of there and into a better and safer part of this house, because it would not reflect positively on you if she gets herself killed by some plant the Ministry people missed when they came to remove all things dark and evil ".

"No!"

"Why not?" she sighed getting quite impatient.

"Because I don't want her here. I don't want her to be here at all for that matter. She is just someone the Ministry send to make my life even more miserable then it already is and really, there is no need for that, I manage quite well by myself."

"First, you will stop wallowing in self pitty, young men! And secondly, as far as I am concerned, the young lady is here to make sure you get every possibility to make something out of your life within the boundaries the Ministry has set out for you. You might not like them, you might not like her, but she looks very competent to me and you will let her do her job, do you hear me?"

"She looks like she's 16".

"Well, there you go, you already found one thing the two of you have in common!"

That one earned her a glare but really, she didn't care. He could glare at her all he wanted. As long as he glared it meant there was still something left of the old Draco. The Draco that was going to get his act together, even if it would be the last thing she made sure off he would do.

"Do you really think she'll be on my side in all of this?"

"Well, there's only one way to find out, don't you think. You'll go downstairs, you will have dinner together, you will be on your best behaviour and you will let her have her say all matters concerning you. She just might surprise you!"

"What about the room?"

"What about it? You'll tell her you are very sorry to have housed her in the most run down part of the Manor and will offer to help her move her stuff to her new accommodations. It is not that hard to be polite and civil at the same time you know?"

"If you say so Mimi!"

"Well I do!"

"Mimi?"

"What?"

"Do you really think there are killer plants in the West wing?"

She had to chuckle at that.

"I hope not, but seeing how those Ministry guys spend most of their time wizzing off everything they could carry out of here, they might just have overlooked something in there. We better be save then sure!"

"Right!

"Good, now get yourself ready for dinner, it will be served at 7 sharp in the dining room. I guess you can find your way there by yourself and get your mess fixed."

With that she "popped" off into thin air, leaving him once again alone in his room.

Falling back onto the bed, he thought about a way to get back into the good graces of this Miss.......what was it again Mimi said.......Shacklebolt. That sounded vaguely familiar.

He should obviously have paid attention earlier; it would have saved him a lot of trouble. But it was quite obvious that Mimi was going to be there for the long run and she decided to give the girl a chance.

So he better swallow his pried and apologise to her during dinner. Oh joy!

Little did he know they wouldn't make it to dinner any time soon that night.

* * *

Lucinda decided to leave her quarters early and do some exploring before she would go downstairs for dinner. Instead of turning back into the direction she had come from, she decided to take a right and make her way through the big old oak panelled doors that turned out to open up into another hallway.

Only this part of the wing seemed to be even more run down than the part she had just come from.

Besides the dust and lack of maintenance, there were black burn marks all over the walls and some of the rooms were missing doors. She couldn't imagine how it would have looked in its glory days, but then again she couldn't imagine living in a Manor either. It was just so big. There was no way one family could effectively use all that space or furnish it!

Entering a particularly large room, she walked through, towards the windows and after wiping one of them clean with the tip of her sleeve, she could looked out onto what was left of the Malfoy gardens.

But instead of finding a unkempt lawn and an array of dead bushes like she expected, she was looking at one of the nicest views she had ever seen. The sun was setting, peeking out from under the far away hills, turning the sky a dark shade of icy blue, with little specks of orange and gold at the edges.

The last rays of light fell nicely onto the underlying garden, colouring the roses down below into the most splendid tones. The Manor's rose garden obviously had not been looked after, but it didn't seem to mind. It had grown into a breathtaking wilderness of roses that had found their way out of their defined spaces and had mingled with each other.

The flowers had managed to conquer quite a bit of the surrounding area and had covered what looked like a garden bench and had started to grow up a nearby gazebo, covering already one side of the little structure in a wide variety of roses.

With the sunlight falling onto it just right, it looked like a little peaceful paradise and she decided to have a closer look at it from the outside tomorrow. She had found something beautyful where she had never expected to find such a thing. Just the thought of that made her hopes go up for the future.

A loud grumble from her stomach alerted her to the fact that she had been staring out of the window for quite some time and dinner was most likely already waiting. Turning around on her heel, she stopped dead in her tracks after seeing the scene that was playing out in front of her.

After that all she could think of was letting out a deafening scream, that echoed through the Manor, hoping some one would come to rescue her.


	7. Starting over

I don't own Harry Potter

Thanks for the nice reviews and have a good read!

* * *

Chapter 7

The first scream resonated through the hallways of the Manor just when Draco turned around the corner of the North Wing on his way down stairs for dinner.

By the time he reached the open door of the West Wing's main drawing room, only a few more had found their way echoing through the empty halls of the Manor and he was quite sure that come tomorrow he wouldn't be able to move. That however was of no concern the moment he laid eye on the scene in front of him.

The first thing he noticed was the girl, pressed up against the wall between two windows, ready to let out another toe curling scream, but changing her mind the moment they locked eyes.

Then, although it was quite hard to oversee even, there was the gigantic Agromantula making its way over to the girl. Killing plants would have been so much easier to deal with, he thought.

The there was the decided lack of wands. The girl didn't seem to be carrying hers; his was still in possession of the Ministry. It didn't really matter anyway, any spell that would get rid of the blasted giant spider would get him a one way ticket back to Azkaban. And that was definitely not going to happen.

He would just have to get the girl away from the wall and around the spider without magic. If they could make it out of the drawing room, they might be able to make it to the big oak doors that marked the entrance to the West Wing. If they could just make it to those doors, they might be able to get out of there alive.

What he did next, would in the years to come repeatedly be described as foolish Gryffindor behavior, totally unsuitable for the prince of Slytherin. His friends would have a good laugh at his expense every time the story got dragged up after a few too many glasses of wine.

Blaise would repeatedly state with obvious glee that Azkaban must have muddled with his brain, because no one in their right mind would jump in between a hunting Agromantula and its prey. Still he did just that and never regretted it, not once.

* * *

Lucinda pressed her back up to the wall behind her to keep as much space between herself and the monstrous spider. Its large eyes never lost her out of sight and a quick look told her that the only way out of the room was behind the spider that was slowly making its way towards her.

She silently cursed herself for leaving her wand in her room, for wandering off into a locked part of the house and for not being on guard because of that. Then she cursed the Ministry for not cleaning up the place decently like they should have. Then she screamed again, loudly!

Maybe someone in the house would hear and come to her rescue.

She didn't really remember how much time passed but the next time she looked passed the spider and at the door, he was standing there, catching her gaze. He seemed utterly unfazed by the fact that a gigantic spider was about to eat her for dinner. Not that there was much he could do. He could off course distract the spider, but that didn't change the fact that it would still be between her and the doorway. If she made it around, the spider would just eat them both. He could try and get over to her side of the room, but that would just lead to the same. Simply said, there was not much he could do.

Obviously he thought differently!

Without a warning he kicked the small side table on his left, making the rather ugly large green vase on it wobble and fall.

The crash momentarily distracted the spider and while it tried to see what caused the noise, he made his way towards her around the other side, reaching for her hand and pulling her away from the wall and across the room.

"Rule number one when facing deadly peril; never get backed up into a wall, it completely reduces your chances of getting away alive", he said in a tone that she couldn't really place. He seemed to be quite serious, but there was a hint of humor as well as if somehow being cornered by a spider was funny.

They didn't make it very far off course. The spider threw around its head to their side followed by its colossal body, placing itself once again in front of them before they made it even halfway through the room.

"Well, since you seem to be so adept at getting out of deadly peril please tell, how are we going to make it to the door", she hissed back, unable to keep the snark out of her voice. She was getting scared again and she never handled scary well, it made her freeze.

Instead of answering he started to slowly make it across the room, step by step, not leaving the spider out of his sight. Every time they took a step towards the door, the spider turned with them, making sure to face them at all times while at the same time closing the gap towards the door. A few more steps and it would have completely closed their only way out.

All through this game of cat and mouse he had not once dropped her hand and made sure that she was behind him at all times, pulling her along. Somehow that was a comforting thought. He might not like her, but he definitely would protect her as long as possible, she thought. His sudden silent but urgent whisper once again called her attention to their present situation.

"We won't be able to make it to and through the door like this. We'll just have to run for it and hope we'll make it through before it notices that we are done shuffling out."

"But…. but it will come after us!"

"Sure, but if we can make it back to the entrance doors we can lock it in", he said, calm and collected plan in place, like outrunning angry hungry monster spiders was something he had been doing all his live.

Well, at least he had a plan and she clearly remembered the heavy doors she had opened entering the hallway. They had looked sturdy and heavy. There had been a key in the lock. If they could make it there, this might actually work.

"OK….. lets make a run for it. But we should both take a door on our way out, that way we'll be faster closing them behind us. Do you want left or right?"

At that he pulled up one of his pale eyebrows, a small smirk forming on his lips. "Good to have you in on this. I'll take the right one, let's run on three OK!"

"OK."

"One…..two…three."

They both spun from their spots and towards the door, reaching it by the time the spider realized they were actually making a run for it. Turning around the corner into the hallway she pulled a dead sprint to its end, the doors looming at the end.

She would definitely have to take up sports again, she decided, feeling her muscles strain while running at dead speed. She could hear the spider gaining ground behind them and Malfoy didn't look like he would be able to handle their pace for much longer but she decided not to look back and instead push on forward. She was definitely too young to die now.

When she reached the door, she just folded her hand around it and without slowing down pulled it along with her, almost jamming her fingers when Malfoy did the same with his, pulling in right behind her. The moment the doors hit each other, he grabbed the big brass handles, pulling the doors together and turned the key, not a second to early. A loud crash made the doors and floor shake and echoed through the hallway making its way through the Manor. The doors fortunately held and suddenly everything went silent.

All she could hear was their uneven breathing and she leaned against the wall, slowly sliding down until she was seated on the old, dusty green carpet. She was five feet away from her room, but she wasn't sure she would be able to make it there.

On the other side of the hall Malfoy followed her example, sliding down the opposite wall before pulling up his knees and putting his head down between them taking one ragged breath after another.

After a while he seemed to catch his breath and uncurled, stretching out his legs. His were so much longer than hers, leaving only a small bit of carpet between their feet.

Looking at her, he once again smirked and stretched out his right hand, "Draco Malfoy, to the rescue!"

Pulling up one of her eyebrows in a perfect imitation of the look he had earlier given her, she had one more look at his outstretched hand and then just took it.

"Lucinda Shacklebolt, glad to be saved".

"Yes well, just imagine the field day they would have at the Ministry if it would have eaten you. Couldn't have that happen now, could we", he quipped back.

"Well, I'm glad I could be of help there", she replied, and they both chuckled.

"After dinner, we should get you another room", he said after a while, dubiously looking at the closed doors.

"Oh, I'm actually at this side of the doors right down here, so that's just fine."

"Nah, we'll get you a room in the North Wing somewhere close to mine, that way we'll both be safer, who knows what else is walking around in this house. That, and Mimi threatened to have my head if I wouldn't move you out of the West Wing, so humor me will you. This is the perfect plan to avoid apologizing for putting you up here in the first place and still moving you out?"

"Your house elve threatened to have your head? Well that's new; I'll have to keep that in mind for future use. Now did I hear you mention dinner", she parried back. "Because I'm rather starving and this place is so big I wouldn't be able to find the dining room if my live depended on it."

"Well, I can definitely help with that", he said, slowly getting up from his place on the floor and reaching out a hand to help her up.

She got up and they made their way through a hall and than around a corner and down a few steps into a corridor that opened up into the central hall and the big staircase. Halfway down the stairs he turned around and while walking on backwards down the stairs said, "Sorry for being rude before, but I was kind of preoccupied and missed your name and then …."

"You weren't going to apologize remember", she cut in, smiling at him.

"Actually, I wasn't going to apologize about giving you a guestroom in Death Eater Central, this however is a completely different apology."

"Well, the way I look at it, you snubbed me, then I snubbed you, you snubbed me some more, then I almost got eaten by a monster spider, you saved me from said spider, we then totally outsmarted the beast and made up, so I suggest we forget all about this earlier today and start over, starting right now. We can actually be nice to each other. It would definitely make this entire, "we have to live together in one thing" much easier to live with, believe me."

Throwing her another look he muttered, "Fine, but I won't promise I'll be nice, I'm not nice. I can however attempt to be civil. Will that do?"

She couldn't help but laugh at that. "I guess civil will do just fine for now, we can work on nice later" she said, skipping down the last few stairs and following him into the dining room.

She could definitely use a meal right now.


End file.
